Nyborg Castle, DENMARK
Founded in the 12th century and modified with Renaissance features during the 16th century, the Nyborg Castle is among Denmark’s oldest and best-preserved royal castles from the Middle Ages. Together with its fortified town, the Nyborg Castle forms a unique ensemble reflecting the history of the Kingdom of Denmark. It was continuously used as a royal fortress for over eight centuries, making it significant both in Denmark and across Europe. The Nyborg Castle is under the ownership of the Danish State.
For over one hundred years the castle has enjoyed protected status with three key legal protections safeguarding the site:
– The Nyborg Castle and its surrounding fortifications are designated as an Ancient Monument. This status makes any changes to the site illegal under current law;
– The West Wing and the East Tower of the castle are protected as Listed Buildings, preventing any alterations to these historic structures; and
– A 100-metre ‘Ancient Monuments’ protection zone places a moratorium on new constructions to preserve the visual coherence and the integrity of the castle and its surroundings.
Despite its exceptional historical and cultural value and triple legal protection, the Nyborg Castle is threatened by an invasive construction project, which aims to build a new information centre of more than 2,000m² in the listed archaeological courtyard of the castle and directly on the medieval base and underlying cultural remains of its North side, in addition to elevating the remains of the medieval East Tower with 9 meters and adding a secondary structure to accommodate support functions, such as staff changing and shower rooms.
In spite of the fact that the proposed new project is contrary to the provisions of the main International and European legal instruments and Charters for the protection of cultural heritage, and that it will irreversibly alter the integrity of the Nyborg Castle, this project is carried out by the Danish national heritage authority, which, paradoxically, is also in charge of ensuring proper enforcement of the national laws which protects the castle.
Back in 2020, Kultur & Arv and other major Danish NGOs obtained assurances that the highest national “Board of Complaints” had declared the above-mentioned new project illegal. Agreeing with complaints that it “violates the Danish laws” and that it would result in “irreparable damages to the protected castle”, the “Board of Complaints” ruled that “communicative interests do not outweigh the extensive physical and visual interventions in the heritage site, including the archaeological layers”. However, the Danish Minister of Culture decided to override the “Board of Complaints” judgment, and obtained, on 19 December 2024, the favourable vote by the Danish Parliament of a new special law normally used to allow works on vital infrastructure, setting aside the existing legal protections and considerably reducing the possibility of using the legal complaints framework by stakeholders.
“In our view, this constitutes a serious breach of the rule of law since it transgresses the decision by a relevant public body having judicial authority. Furthermore, this particular case does not justify the need for overriding the Danish law on heritage protection, and for giving such large powers to executive authorities. Europa Nostra does not object to the construction of an information centre provided that it is located in an alternative more suitable place,” emphasises the Europa Nostra Statement first issued in November (read here) and updated in December 2024 (read here).
The Danish culture and heritage association “Kultur & Arv” (a new Member Organisation of Europa Nostra) nominated the Nyborg Castle to the 7 Most Endangered Programme 2025. The nominator – supported by other important organisations, including the Danish National Society for the Preservation of Ancient and Historic Buildings (a long-standing Member Organisation of Europa Nostra) and prominent heritage conservationists – has proposed sensible alternative solutions for such facilities, which deserve to be taken into account and further studied by the authorities concerned.
The Advisory Panel of the 7 Most Endangered Programme stated: “By including the Nyborg Castle in the shortlist of the most endangered heritage sites in Europe for 2025, we decided to support the efforts to safeguard the integrity of this exceptional cultural and historical monument of both Danish and European value, which is threatened by the proposed construction of a new and invasive building in the very heart of the Castle’s protected courtyard. For this reason, we oppose the adoption of a law of exception overriding all legal protections and the decision by a relevant public body having judicial authority, which would constitute a breach of the rule of law.”
